James Gandolfini and 'The Sopranos' Television Legacy

June 21, 2013

Written By: U.S. News

U.S. News- 'What [Gandolfini] did was bring it to television, to the homes of millions
of people on the small screen. It brought the concept of the mafia family dynamic
into the homes of American audience,' says Rob Weiner, an associate librarian on pop
culture at Texas Tech University. 'He was 'The Godfather' figure for the millennium.'

Every obituary published about James Gandolfini highlighted his performance as Tony
Soprano, with one of the many tragic details of his death being that he was just beginning
to step out of the shadow of that iconic role.

...

"What [Gandolfini] did was bring it to television, to the homes of millions of people
on the small screen. It brought the concept of the mafia family dynamic into the homes
of American audience," says Rob Weiner, an associate librarian on pop culture at Texas
Tech University. "He was 'The Godfather' figure for the millennium."